Education module 02 · KS3 & KS4
Progress & Attainment, KS3 and KS4
Normalised KS3 assessment, so progress can be compared fairly across subjects and schools — plus the KS4 headline measures, by school, subject and pupil group.
KS3: normalised assessment
Schools assess KS3 pupils in different ways, on different scales, at different points in the year. Raw marks aren't comparable across subjects, let alone across schools.
IDS normalises assessment results so they can be compared fairly by ability — within a school, or across the whole trust. Pupils are compared with others of similar starting points, so trusts can see which subjects, schools and groups are making stronger or weaker progress long before KS4.
Each assessment's results are placed on a bell curve — a normal distribution. A pupil's result then shows where they sit relative to everyone who took that assessment, whatever scale it was marked on, so results can be compared fairly across subjects, assessments and schools.
KS4
- Attainment 8 and English and maths at grade 5 or above — the DfE's headline KS4 measures — plus English and maths at grade 4 or above, by school, subject and pupil group.
- Subject-level comparison across the trust.
The DfE did not calculate Progress 8 for 2024/25 or 2025/26. Those cohorts have no KS2 baseline, because the 2020 and 2021 KS2 tests were cancelled. The latest published Progress 8 is from 2023/24, and the DfE intends to return to Progress 8 with 2026/27 results.
The DfE consulted from February to May 2026 on a refreshed Progress 8 curriculum model and a better way to recognise the progress of pupils with low prior attainment. Its response has not yet been published.
During the gap, KS3 normalised progress and in-house KS4 value-added analysis give trusts a view of progress that the performance tables can't. The platform is ready for Progress 8's return and for any changes to the model.
Education modules
Other modules
- Mod. 01 Behaviour & Attendance Attendance, persistent and severe absence, behaviour incidents and suspensions by school, year group and pupil group.
- Mod. 03 · GCSE & A level Exam Results Results at pupil, subject, school and trust level, with grade distributions, group gaps and year-on-year comparison.
- Mod. 04 · KS2 Primary accountability Expected and higher standard, average scaled scores, KS1–KS2 progress and weighted trust measures.
- Mod. 05 16–19 accountability Value added, attainment, retention, English and maths progress and destinations, including trust-level measures.